Thama

It actually is, just not COVID-19. This virus is so stupidly named. Just needed to call it "SARS 2.0" or "Son of SARS" or "SARS EVOLVED".

An antibody with high binding activity to COVID will likely work, just as the convalescent serum extracted from survivors will also probably work. The problem is in getting those treatments off the ground and produced in large numbers within a reasonable time frame. Monoclonal antibody production is not trivial, and I don't have a lot of faith that it will be widely available before 50-75% of the population has already been infected.

A) China is far more draconian about quarantine than Europe. B) China is also not reporting their real numbers or letting the outside world see how bad it is in many places according to Chinese national coworkers with family there.

It's a horrible idea. While the death rate is much lower in that population, it is still substantial. Lots of reports from China and a few from Italy of young healthy physicians becoming critically ill and dying, many from what appears to be a delayed myocarditis-like illness. In France fully half of their critically ill patients are young and middle aged (under 60). Being young and healthy is a relative, not absolute, protective factor here.

Some of the largest clusters of SARS-CoV occurred in warm climates. Even the Chinese scientists are talking about a reduction in R0 of around 0.5, which would be huge for most viruses, but is a drop in the bucket here.

The tides turned in China and South Korea because their populations and governments were willing to strictly follow measures that Americans would throw little personal liberty hissy fits about. And warm weather is going to slow this down only slightly by current observations. It's spreading just fine in tropical/subtropical areas now.